Whenever a professor announces a guest speaker, students are tempted to believe that day will be a free pass to skip class. In fact, I often find myself easily falling into this belief. But this semester, I’ve realized that is not a good idea! Don’t fall into that trap! Guest speakers are some of the most interesting and exciting days you will ever have in class!
This week, I had two guest speakers on the same day and I gained valuable advice from each of them. The first was in my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, where we learn about what it takes to become your own boss. Our guest speaker was exciting and energetic. He was a different kind of entrepreneur, who works at a Bible College in Indianapolis, while also working with a network marketing company (which is like the Avon business model). His message to us was simple: line up multiple streams of income! This just means that you have a daytime job, but also devote a couple hours a week to a company on the side, like selling beauty products. It seems like such a good idea.
He also encouraged us to create a 5-year vision statement, detailing where we would like to be in 5 years. By writing it in the present tense and updating it each year, these goals are much more likely to be achieved. This is an idea that I think I’ll actually implement!
Our second speaker that day was Moria Forbes, who is an executive heading up the ForbesWoman initiative. Her presentation was truly inspiring to me as a woman wanting to move up in business. She encouraged us to have a mission we’re passionate about and be willing to take risks! By looking to leaders and their stories, one can find inspiration. This is something I’ve found just by attending guest lectures.
It seems that taking the initiative in your education can truly benefit, motivate, and inspire you. This can be done just by attending guest speaker events. It’s really that simple! Sometimes, it’s too easy to make light of a college education by just doing enough to get by. But then, I wonder if you’d regret that 5, 10, or 20 years down the road. What if we all took advantage of the time we have at Ball State and other universities? What is each of us made the most of our college days? Imagine what would be different about college, society, and each of our personal lives. And it could all begin with an honored guest.
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Student Symposium
This week, I attended the Student Symposium, where Ball State students exhibit their creative projects and academic work. I went mainly because I knew some of the seniors presenting their thesis projects. The event reminded me a bit of a science fair, with all the posters lined up and students prepared to share information about their projects with you.
It was interesting because I went to it thinking it was just for honors college students who were seniors. Turns out, any BSU student is eligible to present their projects. It could be a senior thesis, class project, or any type of organized project.
Honestly, some of the more science-y projects didn’t really interest me, but that’s not my field. When we got to the business-related projects, I started thinking about what potential I may have for presenting a project in the next couple of years.
The most obvious project I could do would be my business plan for my Entrepreneurship major. I wonder if students ever present these at the Symposium? I also think it would be an interesting project to do an independent study in something for my French major. Now that I know I could have the opportunity to present it at the end of the year, I think that would give me motivation to really develop it.
So this week, I learned something new! Ball State offers an opportunity for students who have been working on organized projects to converse with faculty and community members about their research efforts, creative projects, and education. Kind of a cool opportunity I may have to think about in the future!
It was interesting because I went to it thinking it was just for honors college students who were seniors. Turns out, any BSU student is eligible to present their projects. It could be a senior thesis, class project, or any type of organized project.
Honestly, some of the more science-y projects didn’t really interest me, but that’s not my field. When we got to the business-related projects, I started thinking about what potential I may have for presenting a project in the next couple of years.
The most obvious project I could do would be my business plan for my Entrepreneurship major. I wonder if students ever present these at the Symposium? I also think it would be an interesting project to do an independent study in something for my French major. Now that I know I could have the opportunity to present it at the end of the year, I think that would give me motivation to really develop it.
So this week, I learned something new! Ball State offers an opportunity for students who have been working on organized projects to converse with faculty and community members about their research efforts, creative projects, and education. Kind of a cool opportunity I may have to think about in the future!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Immersive Learning
One of Ball State’s somewhat infamous taglines is “Immersive Learning.” In fact, there’s an entire section of the BSU Website on it – you can check it out here!
Immersive Learning, as Ball State’s Website states, is at “the heart of a Ball State education.” It’s all about bringing students together from across campus to work on a project that benefits the local community. Besides making a difference in a business or organization, Immersive Learning projects provide opportunities for students to build their resumes with real-world experience.
So far in my career at Ball State, I’ve already been involved in two Immersive projects. From my perspective, what seems to occur sometimes is that classes are turned into Immersive experiences. That’s what happened in two of my classes! There are also numerous projects you can sign up for too. I would recommend signing up for a project you are interested in, though, rather than just waiting for a class to be turned into a project. If you aren’t very interested in the subject of the project, you definitely won’t enjoy it as much or be as dedicated to it!
My projects have both been classes of business majors, and the project I’m currently working on is through the Building Better Communities program, which you can read more about here. For this project I’m currently working on, my Marketing class has prepared a market research survey for a local bank, who is interested in learning more about small business perspectives and expectations of the economy.
After our meeting with the client, our class chose a team leader and divided up into three groups that would eventually come together into one team. For the first part of the semester, my class has been working together to develop an authentic, repeatable survey. Each group had an essential role in the creation process. At this point, we are in the middle of actually conducting the survey by calling local small businesses. Once the data is collected, we will be able to analyze it and create a presentation to exhibit for our client at the end of the semester.
The first project I did was through my Management class, which was for a local non-profit organization. After meeting with that client, we also divided our class into three teams, except each team would work on a different project for the organization. Our goal was to provide as many benefits to our client as possible. The first group was in charge of developing an existing fundraising program for the organization. The second group was also involved in fundraising, only from corporate and local sponsors. The group I was in planned a volunteer activity to be completed that semester.
We went through numerous planning stages, even going so far as to have a date set, until we realized that our timeline was much too short to coordinate all the volunteers, businesses, and materials. Our event wasn’t going to happen on time! So we had to backtrack and start basically from the beginning. It was hard because we felt like failures, but as our professor assured us, it didn’t have to be a complete loss. So what we ended up doing was gathering all the material we had prepared for the event and created a package for our client to implement the event the next semester with little to no planning on his part.
What I’ve discovered about Immersive Learning projects is that they are truly just that – learning experiences. Sometimes you’ll do really excellent work and feel great about your finished product; other times, you may fail. But that’s when you pick yourself and your group up and do better next time. No matter how your project goes, you will definitely have something to talk about during a job interview. These are experiences for helping you grow as a student, as a group member, and as a leader. And to me, that’s a pretty good reason for making Immersive Learning a BSU tagline.
Immersive Learning, as Ball State’s Website states, is at “the heart of a Ball State education.” It’s all about bringing students together from across campus to work on a project that benefits the local community. Besides making a difference in a business or organization, Immersive Learning projects provide opportunities for students to build their resumes with real-world experience.
So far in my career at Ball State, I’ve already been involved in two Immersive projects. From my perspective, what seems to occur sometimes is that classes are turned into Immersive experiences. That’s what happened in two of my classes! There are also numerous projects you can sign up for too. I would recommend signing up for a project you are interested in, though, rather than just waiting for a class to be turned into a project. If you aren’t very interested in the subject of the project, you definitely won’t enjoy it as much or be as dedicated to it!
My projects have both been classes of business majors, and the project I’m currently working on is through the Building Better Communities program, which you can read more about here. For this project I’m currently working on, my Marketing class has prepared a market research survey for a local bank, who is interested in learning more about small business perspectives and expectations of the economy.
After our meeting with the client, our class chose a team leader and divided up into three groups that would eventually come together into one team. For the first part of the semester, my class has been working together to develop an authentic, repeatable survey. Each group had an essential role in the creation process. At this point, we are in the middle of actually conducting the survey by calling local small businesses. Once the data is collected, we will be able to analyze it and create a presentation to exhibit for our client at the end of the semester.
The first project I did was through my Management class, which was for a local non-profit organization. After meeting with that client, we also divided our class into three teams, except each team would work on a different project for the organization. Our goal was to provide as many benefits to our client as possible. The first group was in charge of developing an existing fundraising program for the organization. The second group was also involved in fundraising, only from corporate and local sponsors. The group I was in planned a volunteer activity to be completed that semester.
We went through numerous planning stages, even going so far as to have a date set, until we realized that our timeline was much too short to coordinate all the volunteers, businesses, and materials. Our event wasn’t going to happen on time! So we had to backtrack and start basically from the beginning. It was hard because we felt like failures, but as our professor assured us, it didn’t have to be a complete loss. So what we ended up doing was gathering all the material we had prepared for the event and created a package for our client to implement the event the next semester with little to no planning on his part.
What I’ve discovered about Immersive Learning projects is that they are truly just that – learning experiences. Sometimes you’ll do really excellent work and feel great about your finished product; other times, you may fail. But that’s when you pick yourself and your group up and do better next time. No matter how your project goes, you will definitely have something to talk about during a job interview. These are experiences for helping you grow as a student, as a group member, and as a leader. And to me, that’s a pretty good reason for making Immersive Learning a BSU tagline.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tutoring
Last week I started my first on campus job - as a tutor at the Learning Center! For those of you who are avid readers of my blog, you'll remember last semester when I took a trip to the Learning Center myself for help with Econ 221. By the end of the semester, the professor for that same class had recommended me to be a tutor this semester.
In high school, I had always enjoyed tutoring my fellow students whenever they asked. I would help with various math subjects and sometimes look over a paper. Last year, I had thought it would be fun to tutor French or something at the Learning Center, but I never dreamed it would be math! Yet, before I knew it, I'd been hired as a business tutor!
So my first day was last week and I tutored two students! And I'll even admit, it was kind of fun. It's been good, too, to be able to refresh my skills in subjects like Accounting and Econ. Those foundations will be important later on in college and I may not remember them as well without this practice. So don't hesitate to check out the Learning Center sometime. They offer free tutoring to Ball State students in most core curriculum subjects. It'll be a beneficial experience and you never know when you may end up working there!
In high school, I had always enjoyed tutoring my fellow students whenever they asked. I would help with various math subjects and sometimes look over a paper. Last year, I had thought it would be fun to tutor French or something at the Learning Center, but I never dreamed it would be math! Yet, before I knew it, I'd been hired as a business tutor!
So my first day was last week and I tutored two students! And I'll even admit, it was kind of fun. It's been good, too, to be able to refresh my skills in subjects like Accounting and Econ. Those foundations will be important later on in college and I may not remember them as well without this practice. So don't hesitate to check out the Learning Center sometime. They offer free tutoring to Ball State students in most core curriculum subjects. It'll be a beneficial experience and you never know when you may end up working there!
Friday, September 9, 2011
A Center for Learning
This week, I took a step outside my comfort zone: I called the Learning Center and made an appointment with a tutor. You see, this was a BIG step for an honors student used to being on the tutor side of the equation. However, I have already gotten to the point in my statistics class where I feel slightly lost. So I decided to be proactive instead of failing…
Believe me, it’s SO worth it! I took a friend with me so I wouldn’t lose my courage, but the tutors at the BSU Learning Center are great. At least the one we had was; I even knew one of the other guys and he probably would have done a good job too. Once we got started with the questions I had, all my fears melted away. Suddenly, probability and distribution functions seemed so much easier! They have tutors in other areas too: Core Curriculum; Math, Physics, Accounting, and Economics; Study Strategies; and Writing.
Honestly, all it took was for someone to explain the notes in a different way. Granted, I haven’t taken the exam yet, but I feel much more confident going into it than I did a few days ago. So if you want my advice (and this is good stuff, folks!), pick up the phone and call before your grades start to suffer. It’s worth it!
Believe me, it’s SO worth it! I took a friend with me so I wouldn’t lose my courage, but the tutors at the BSU Learning Center are great. At least the one we had was; I even knew one of the other guys and he probably would have done a good job too. Once we got started with the questions I had, all my fears melted away. Suddenly, probability and distribution functions seemed so much easier! They have tutors in other areas too: Core Curriculum; Math, Physics, Accounting, and Economics; Study Strategies; and Writing.
Honestly, all it took was for someone to explain the notes in a different way. Granted, I haven’t taken the exam yet, but I feel much more confident going into it than I did a few days ago. So if you want my advice (and this is good stuff, folks!), pick up the phone and call before your grades start to suffer. It’s worth it!
Friday, August 26, 2011
So Good
Guess who’s back on campus and finally settled in? That’s right, yours truly! It seemed like returning to campus would mean everything would be different, but the minute I saw one of my closest friends, all was right in the world. This week, it seems like we’ve never been apart!
Of course, there are classes to attend. Today marks the end of the first week; I’ve survived! For those of you who are curious, I’m taking Humanities, Business Statistics, Management, French Literature, Accounting, and Photography. So far, so good!
These are a few of my favorite things (about being back at BSU):
Blue skies and cooler weather (the benefit of going north to school)
Free Zumba classes!!!
DeHority
CRU and my awesome friends there
Ballroom lessons and competitions
New classes
Blogging!
My least favorite things:
Bicycles
Statistics
Friends who are far away
It's amazing that it's already been a year since I gave you a tour of our dorm room. Well, this year I am lucky enough to have the same roommate, so our room looks relatively the same. To switch things up a bit, I'll give you a photo tour this year!
Of course, there are classes to attend. Today marks the end of the first week; I’ve survived! For those of you who are curious, I’m taking Humanities, Business Statistics, Management, French Literature, Accounting, and Photography. So far, so good!
These are a few of my favorite things (about being back at BSU):
Blue skies and cooler weather (the benefit of going north to school)
Free Zumba classes!!!
DeHority
CRU and my awesome friends there
Ballroom lessons and competitions
New classes
Blogging!
My least favorite things:
Bicycles
Statistics
Friends who are far away
It's amazing that it's already been a year since I gave you a tour of our dorm room. Well, this year I am lucky enough to have the same roommate, so our room looks relatively the same. To switch things up a bit, I'll give you a photo tour this year!
Welcome to Becca and Nicole's room!
Does this look familiar?
My "study space" and snacks!
Home sweet home!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Less Than A Month
For most college students, school starts in less than a month. We will all be heading to our respective universities in a flurry of packing, moving, and unpacking. There will be some tears and much celebration. One life gets left behind, while another is just beginning.
Many of you are excitedly preparing for your first year of college. And if you’re not excited, you should be! I won’t waste time telling you how awesome that first year is, because you can read the rest of my blog for that. But I will share a story with you…
Last night, a friend of mine texted me with a question about buying textbooks for school. She has a friend coming to Ball State for their first year and wanted advice about getting books. There are SO many options; it takes awhile to figure out what works best for you.
My first semester, I made the mistake of buying all my books from the school bookstore – if you want to spend more money than you have to, do it that way. Honestly, it was much easier, but not really worth the expense. The next time around, I took the time to research the best price, saving myself around $200. Finding used books or rentals is really the best way to go. Unless you plan to keep your books, RENT THEM! My personal preferences are Chegg.com and Amazon, and the BSU bookstore when necessary.
Of course, those are just my thoughts on the matter. Maybe some upperclassmen readers can give us their advice? Ultimately though, you just have to figure out what works best for YOU.
Many of you are excitedly preparing for your first year of college. And if you’re not excited, you should be! I won’t waste time telling you how awesome that first year is, because you can read the rest of my blog for that. But I will share a story with you…
Last night, a friend of mine texted me with a question about buying textbooks for school. She has a friend coming to Ball State for their first year and wanted advice about getting books. There are SO many options; it takes awhile to figure out what works best for you.
My first semester, I made the mistake of buying all my books from the school bookstore – if you want to spend more money than you have to, do it that way. Honestly, it was much easier, but not really worth the expense. The next time around, I took the time to research the best price, saving myself around $200. Finding used books or rentals is really the best way to go. Unless you plan to keep your books, RENT THEM! My personal preferences are Chegg.com and Amazon, and the BSU bookstore when necessary.
Of course, those are just my thoughts on the matter. Maybe some upperclassmen readers can give us their advice? Ultimately though, you just have to figure out what works best for YOU.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Human Condition
A topic that interests all of us is something we find ourselves dealing with on a daily basis – the human condition. It is about who we are as a society, where we’ve come from, how we’ve developed, and where we’re headed. In one way or another, everybody has expressed an interest in this subject.
As a member of the Ball State Honors College, this is a subject you will explore in great depth. Honors College students call this part of your experience “the Humanities sequence.” Each of the 3 Humanities courses focuses on an era of time, beginning with “The Ancient World” and continuing through “The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Enlightenment” to “The Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Centuries.”
They recommend taking the entire sequence with the same professor, but it’s not necessary. By sheer chance, I ended up with my prof and I’m planning to continue with his classes (I got an A on a paper last week!!). I’m in the second course right now. So far, we’ve read pieces by Aristotle and Plato, and famous works like The Iliad and Othello, as well as Eastern texts by Buddha, Confucius, and Chuang Chou (he’s my favorite).
The other night, I was reading an assignment for the second course (Machiavelli’s The Prince, actually) and got to thinking... I find myself constantly complaining about how much reading there is for Humanities or how boring the Humanities readings are. Ask my roommate, she’ll tell you.
Yet, as I was thinking about it, I realized how many times I’ve actually understood a reference on TV or in a magazine because of something we read in Humanities. Just the references in Machiavelli alone to Virgil’s Aeneid are enough to convince me. If that’s not enough for you though, I found a song by Switchfoot called “Something More (Augustine’s Confession)” and realized that that song was based off of Augustine’s Confessions. Oh my gosh, I get the reference! It happens so often that sometimes I don’t even notice it. But when I pay attention, it’s amazing. That small buzz of excitement; it makes you feel so smart! As frustrating as the number of seemingly boring reading assignments is for Humanities, the ability to relate coursework to real life is so worth it.
Yeah, that was a total plug for Honors College, but I didn’t mean for it to be. Honest. I just had this realization that the work I’ve been slaving away at for Humanities has actually taught me something. I feel more worldly and educated already. Honors College is worth the extra application and effort!
Trust me.
As a member of the Ball State Honors College, this is a subject you will explore in great depth. Honors College students call this part of your experience “the Humanities sequence.” Each of the 3 Humanities courses focuses on an era of time, beginning with “The Ancient World” and continuing through “The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Enlightenment” to “The Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Centuries.”
They recommend taking the entire sequence with the same professor, but it’s not necessary. By sheer chance, I ended up with my prof and I’m planning to continue with his classes (I got an A on a paper last week!!). I’m in the second course right now. So far, we’ve read pieces by Aristotle and Plato, and famous works like The Iliad and Othello, as well as Eastern texts by Buddha, Confucius, and Chuang Chou (he’s my favorite).
The other night, I was reading an assignment for the second course (Machiavelli’s The Prince, actually) and got to thinking... I find myself constantly complaining about how much reading there is for Humanities or how boring the Humanities readings are. Ask my roommate, she’ll tell you.
Yet, as I was thinking about it, I realized how many times I’ve actually understood a reference on TV or in a magazine because of something we read in Humanities. Just the references in Machiavelli alone to Virgil’s Aeneid are enough to convince me. If that’s not enough for you though, I found a song by Switchfoot called “Something More (Augustine’s Confession)” and realized that that song was based off of Augustine’s Confessions. Oh my gosh, I get the reference! It happens so often that sometimes I don’t even notice it. But when I pay attention, it’s amazing. That small buzz of excitement; it makes you feel so smart! As frustrating as the number of seemingly boring reading assignments is for Humanities, the ability to relate coursework to real life is so worth it.
Yeah, that was a total plug for Honors College, but I didn’t mean for it to be. Honest. I just had this realization that the work I’ve been slaving away at for Humanities has actually taught me something. I feel more worldly and educated already. Honors College is worth the extra application and effort!
Trust me.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Midterms are here...
It’s hard to believe it’s time for midterms already, even though I really don’t have any exams (just a paper to write). So, I thought it would be a good time to write about my classes this semester.
Honors 201 – Humanities – Inquiries in the Ancient World: This class is a LOT of reading. Most of what we’ve done so far has to do with the Greeks. You know, Plato and Aristotle – those kinds of guys. The thing about honors classes though, is that most of the class time is spent in discussion. Instead of a 50-minute lecture, we get to toss around ideas and hear what our classmates have to say. Much more interesting, I think.
Honors 100: This is basically a “Welcome to College” class. It’s one credit hour (as opposed to the usual three) and meets once a week. We have a student mentor who leads the course and basically shares important and interesting things with us. One week, we visited the Art Museum. Another, we had a guest speaker who talked about scholarships with us. My favorite was our trip to a coffee shop in The Village. This is a good chance to ask any questions you have and get to know campus better.
Honors 199 – Social Sciences – Inquiries in Contemporary American Civilization: This class complements my other honors course quite well. There is no reading and only occasional journals and projects. Our class time has been spent discussing popular trends from the last couple hundred years. My favorite topics have been TV shows, toys, and communication.
French 301 – Conversation: I tested into the 300 level of French classes. I was really hoping for this, but I was nervous about taking such a high level course. My French skills in writing are much better than my speaking skills. But I know that a conversation class will be really helpful for me. It’s not been nearly as bad as I had feared. In fact, this is one of my favorite classes. I already feel like I have improved and am looking forward to the rest of the semester. Plus, I’m that much closer to having a French minor!
Dance 100 – Dance History: This class fills my Fine Arts requirement. Besides, I love dance so it’s not much of an inconvenience. There is so much to learn about the history of dance! It’s been a really interesting class. We even danced the Virginia Reel one day!
ISOM 135 – Information Systems & Operations Management: ISOM is part of my core business requirements. It is basically about the relationship between technology and business. I really like our professor (she and I have the same birthday!). The material isn’t all that interesting, but I know it will be important in my future business courses.
Finance 101 – Personal Finance: This is also one of my BSU core requirements. Every student must take a personal finance course. This class meets once a week and is one credit hour. Basically, it’s a lecture class and it’s up to you to read the material. I scored a 98% on my first test last week!
So there you have it. The first half of my first semester at BSU is already finished!
Honors 201 – Humanities – Inquiries in the Ancient World: This class is a LOT of reading. Most of what we’ve done so far has to do with the Greeks. You know, Plato and Aristotle – those kinds of guys. The thing about honors classes though, is that most of the class time is spent in discussion. Instead of a 50-minute lecture, we get to toss around ideas and hear what our classmates have to say. Much more interesting, I think.
Honors 100: This is basically a “Welcome to College” class. It’s one credit hour (as opposed to the usual three) and meets once a week. We have a student mentor who leads the course and basically shares important and interesting things with us. One week, we visited the Art Museum. Another, we had a guest speaker who talked about scholarships with us. My favorite was our trip to a coffee shop in The Village. This is a good chance to ask any questions you have and get to know campus better.
Honors 199 – Social Sciences – Inquiries in Contemporary American Civilization: This class complements my other honors course quite well. There is no reading and only occasional journals and projects. Our class time has been spent discussing popular trends from the last couple hundred years. My favorite topics have been TV shows, toys, and communication.
French 301 – Conversation: I tested into the 300 level of French classes. I was really hoping for this, but I was nervous about taking such a high level course. My French skills in writing are much better than my speaking skills. But I know that a conversation class will be really helpful for me. It’s not been nearly as bad as I had feared. In fact, this is one of my favorite classes. I already feel like I have improved and am looking forward to the rest of the semester. Plus, I’m that much closer to having a French minor!
Dance 100 – Dance History: This class fills my Fine Arts requirement. Besides, I love dance so it’s not much of an inconvenience. There is so much to learn about the history of dance! It’s been a really interesting class. We even danced the Virginia Reel one day!
ISOM 135 – Information Systems & Operations Management: ISOM is part of my core business requirements. It is basically about the relationship between technology and business. I really like our professor (she and I have the same birthday!). The material isn’t all that interesting, but I know it will be important in my future business courses.
Finance 101 – Personal Finance: This is also one of my BSU core requirements. Every student must take a personal finance course. This class meets once a week and is one credit hour. Basically, it’s a lecture class and it’s up to you to read the material. I scored a 98% on my first test last week!
So there you have it. The first half of my first semester at BSU is already finished!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)